The Brit judge has been stung by criticism from the blogosphere since last week's elimination of AdéChiké Torbert that black men get short shrift from her scoring.

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"It's just ridiculous, honestly," she told Popeater. "I actually Twittered because there was so much negativity coming at me, because they think I was coming at him for really stupid reasons. I had to make clear that I as a judge, as a person, don't care what somebody looks like. I could care less what color their skin is, or how big they are, what their weight is. I look at their performance. I look at their integrity as an artist. I look at their technicality. I look strictly at that. People are trying to find something that isn't there. They're digging into the wrong areas."

Michaels might not have helped her case by pointing out that "some of the finest dancers that have worked for me are black men and my assistants are black men," but she did note that she once was engaged to "an African American, actually, a Cuban guy."

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The Emmy-winning choreographer said AdéChiké was just not one of the show's stronger dancers.

"I honestly don't think he would have been around as long as he was if we hadn't had all the injuries we had this season," she said.

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Nevertheless, she stresses that she believes he's a good dancer "and a great young man. He's very strong, an athlete, but he needs a lot of work in the fluidity department and style. He needs to tap into the artistry and the style of dancing."